CAMP PENDLETON  A young Marine veteran faced a crowd of camouflaged troops Monday at Camp Pendleton, speaking softly about life lessons that nearly killed him four years ago.

Retired Cpl. William “Kyle” Carpenter, 24, of Columbia, S.C., said the Medal of Honor matching his blue business suit weighed heavily on him because so many Marines he knows had died.

Scars web his face, framing his missing eye. But Carpenter has no regrets, he said. Whatever comes your way in life, make the most of it. Work hard, serve others and be proud, Carpenter told about 1,100 Marines who filled the base auditorium.

For him it was an enemy grenade lobbed onto the roof of his patrol base in Marjah, Afghanistan, in November 2010. Carpenter threw himself on the grenade to save the life of his friend, an action for which he was awarded the military’s highest decoration for valor in combat last week.

Carpenter is the eight living Medal of Honor recipient since 2001 for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan.

“A week ago I was just a normal person. Country boy, college student from South Carolina. Now just because I have this medal on and the spotlight, now I’m like a thousand followers a day — which is creepy and kind of weird — on social media,” he said, provoking laughter from the crowd.

“I got out of a plane yesterday and 45 minutes-later I was warming up my busted-up arm that they were going to amputate to try to throw a pitch at a Major League Baseball game,” he said, describing his ceremonial first pitch at Sunday's Padres-Dodgers game at Petco Park.

“I’m the same person. I got a grenade thrown at me. Situation turned out how it did. Now I’m just trying to do good things,” he said, by raising awareness about service members, the wounded and the fallen.

Hearing Carpenter speak was “a splash of motivation” that reinforced the Marine ethos underscored in a Bible verse: “greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for his friends,” said Cpl. Icaro Gomes, 21, of Lake Worth, Fla.

“He’s a better man than most people could ever be,” Gomes said, but he was struck by Carpenter’s humility. “After everything, he is thanking us for our service.”

Carpenter also met Monday with wounded troops at Camp Pendleton, then visited Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Later this week, he will head to New York to attend the musical "Rocky" and appear Thursday on the "Late Show With David Letterman" before visiting Marines at Camp Lejeune, N.C., on Friday.

Carpenter felt uncomfortable at first about the attention over the award, he told U-T San Diego before the medal ceremony.

His selfless act in combat was no surprise to his friends, who cited his generous character. Trying to save Lance Cpl. Nicholas Eufrazio from the grenade was his motivation, not receiving a medal, said Michael Tinari, 27, of Southamptom, Pa., who served in the same platoon.

“He obviously deserves recognition, but Kyle’s not the kind of person who needs something like this, who looks for a pat on the back... He did what he had to do (for Eufrazio),” Tinari said.

Before the speech, Lt. Gen. John Toolan, Jr. reminded Marines of real-world applications. “The war is not over. We just lost three Marines this past weekend in Helmand province,” in a roadside bomb attack, he said. “What you learn here today ... a little bit about courage, a little bit about perseverance, a little bit about attitude, it’s going to be very important.”

Carpenter urged them to stay positive no matter what comes their way, whether it’s transitioning to civilian life as the Corps downsizes or a 30-year career in uniform: “Work hard at what you do, no matter what it is,” he said. “Go out there and find your passion and make a difference.”

All who volunteered for military service during a time of war should be proud of their contributions. “Nobody made you join, nobody made you sign up,” he said.

“Those of you who have deployed who might have the physical injuries, the mental injuries, those of you that are just having a tough time — it means a lot what you do.

“As I stand here with this Medal of Honor on my neck, I wear it for all of you,” he said. “I am no more special than you. ... I’m proud and honored and humbled to have worn the same uniform as you.”

Carpenter spent about three years in hospitals recovering from wounds before he was medically retired. On Monday, he told a Marine in the audience that he wouldn’t take back anything.

“There were a lot of hard times, and having to have a team of people help me out of the bed, having to use a bedpan is a really tough thing to swallow. But looking back, I’m proud of my scars and what myself and my Marines went through in Marjah.”

They fought for the less fortunate in an area so poor that fresh water and three meals a day is unfathomable, a place where children start working sunup to sundown, barefoot in the fields as soon as they could walk, he said.

“Obviously the physical injuries and struggles are going to be very real for the rest of my life,” Carpenter said, referring to his “50-50” vision.

“Was it hard? Yes. Do I regret it? No.

“In the Marine Corps there is no individual effort, we’re all a big team. There are times you just have to realize and accept and trust that ... things are bigger than just any one person.

“For me that was Afghanistan.”

Retired Marine Cpl. William "Kyle" Carpenter visits Marines at Camp Pendelton. Carpenter used his body to shield a comrade from an enemy grenade in Afghanistan, for which he received the Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama on June 19.
Alejandro Tamayo

Retired Marine Cpl. William "Kyle" Carpenter visits Marines at Camp Pendelton. Carpenter used his body to shield a comrade from an enemy grenade in Afghanistan, for which he received the Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama on June 19.